Recommended Reading

[Kernix]

Well, going thru all the threads did not always tell whether a suggested book was fiction or non-fiction - I tried to figure it out, but I know that I have a # of mistakes in that way...if anyone knows all those books I can email you the file to correct the fiction\nonfiction errors - and if someone does that, I'll go back from when I stopped adding on more suggestions, and add all the new ones to my file - send me a PM and I'll give you my email address

[Challenger]

To the above, I would add Kevin Patterson's The Water In Between and My Old Man and the Sea by David Hays. There is also a book about a guy who sailed the Vancouver coast (not Raban) and traced his family roots. The boat either was a Golden Hind or was called Golden Hind (how's that for helpful; there's a good book, but I don't know the title or author).

[Guesser]

I just finished Sailing Alone Around the World by Joshua Slocum, highly recommeded.

[oceansandmts]

I am not sure if any of these have been mentioned, except of course Sailing Alone Around the World by Slocum, which is one of my all time favorites.

Lone Voyager by Joseph Garland, the story of Howard Blackburn, the Gloucester fisherman who rowed back to land in the middle of winter, losing fingers and toes to frostbite, and who later single-handed to Europe several times. A story of incredible hardship and toughness, they don't make them like Howard any more.

Venturesome Voyages by J.C. Voss, an early circumnavigator in a decked Indian dug-out canoe, early proponent of sea anchors.

Salt Water Poems and Ballads, John Masefield: "I must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky, And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by..." Sea-Fever and more poems. Sea-Fever is probably the best and best known of these classic poems.

Amaretto, Joe Upton, about sardine fishing in Maine, he wrote another good book about fishing in Alaska. Well written.

Clean, Sweet Wind, Douglas Pyle, about the last of the wooden boat-builders in the Caribbean. Pyle sailed to the various islands to research the story. Also well written.

Most of these are probably out of print, but Amazon or one of the used nautical book stores will help.

[tdw]

A particularly fascinating piece of trivia (at least to a brain dead wombat) is the fact that Robert Louis Stevenson's family were the greatest builders of lighthouses of their age.

The Lighthouse Stevensons - Bella Bathurst


Thoroughly readable, well researched it's amazing that anyone could create such a rivetting read about building lighthouses. I guess many of us would consider an old lighthouse as a dream home for a retired sailor, certainly I would and it is that which makes such a tale so irresistable. Well worth the price of admission.

[RockoDelray]

Hello Everyone,

I am new to this forum and have been lurking and posting on several other forums for a little over a year. I must say I like the content here very much and though I havent read the archives it seems like this board suffers less from the "cult of personality" than the ones I've been trying to post to and have seen lately. So once I get used to the format of the post I think I will get some enjoyable reading...especially this great idea you have about a reading list or library.

Allow me to add my suggestions of some old standards:

Sailing Around the World Alone by Joshua Slocum

Gypsy Moth Circles the World by Sir Francis Chichester

I have several historical suggestions too:

Sea of Glory by Nathaniel Philbrick

Magellan by Pat Joyner

(just glancing over at my bookshelf which is not arrainged in any order....I will come up with allot more later)

I also have a blog where I have been compiling a list of sailing links:

Rocko Delray Likes to Sail, Explore and Travel

I just decided to take my list of sailing favorites (bookmarks) which had been growing for some time and dump them all into my blog. Now I have been just randomly adding any nautical related link that I happen to discover through my time wasting hours of surfing and try to get at least some record of it.

Anyway, a very good idea you have about this compilation of books.

Good sailing to all,
Rocko

[Kernix]

Rocko - the slocum book is on the list

So, I've read The Complete Sailor and so many questions have been answered. I'd really like to lessen the learning curve when I 1st go sailing in 2+ weeks. What would be another great book for a newbie to start reading?

[sailingdog]

Kernix-

The Complete Sailor is the best newbie book I've seen... Another good book to read is Dave Gerr's The Nature of Boats... not specifically about sailing the boat, but tells you a good deal about why and how they're built the way they are. Also, are you going cruising, daysailing or racing. Depending on what you're doing, and what boat you're doing it on, I would probably suggest something different. Let me know.

[Kernix]

Okay - from Seidman's book all the rigging was tough to understand and I'll need to go back over it. Does Gerr's book go into that? For the time being I'll be doing 2-day trips with Philly sail club. Eventually daysailing when I get my own boat (2-3 yrs) until I build my skills - then cruising - not interested in racing at this time.

[sailingdog]

Nope, Gerr's book is primarily on the construction of the hulls. For rigging, see Brian Toss's The Complete Rigger's Apprentice.